


Love's Not a Competition, But I Won

by seasalticecream32



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, M/M, Marriage Proposal
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-23
Updated: 2015-07-23
Packaged: 2018-04-10 18:24:01
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,593
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4402454
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/seasalticecream32/pseuds/seasalticecream32
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Arthur tells a thirteen year old Merlin that he'll marry him if Merlin beats him in three competitions before they graduate high school.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Love's Not a Competition, But I Won

**Love’s Not a Competition, but I Won**

Merlin was ten years old when he saw Arthur Pendragon for the first time. He ended up with a bloody nose, a pink slip, and a new best friend. The bullies on the playground didn’t stand a chance.

He was thirteen the first time he asked Arthur to marry him. He ended up with a bloody nose, a pink slip, and a very angry mother.

It had taken him a whole week to talk to Arthur again. He’d only been joking, after all. Thirteen year olds didn’t’ get married. That was ludicrous. Arthur had picked on him and Merlin had retaliated. Leon called them an old married couple and one thing led to another and Merlin made his first proposal at thirteen.

He hadn’t expected for Arthur to walk up to him with red cheeks and scruffed up knuckles with an apology on his tongue a week later.

“Yeah, well, what’s wrong with me anyway?” Merlin remembered the two of them giggling over Gwaine late at night, and discussing Freya and Gwen and all the pretty people. Was it just him that Arthur didn’t want?

“Don’t be dense, Merlin. You’re my best friend.” Arthur scowled.

“Yeah, well, so? Best friends get married sometimes.” Merlin scowled back.

Arthur looked around the room and lowered his voice. “Look, if I say I’ll marry you will you stop being mad at me?”

“I wasn’t seriously asking you anyway.” Merlin slouched in his seat. “But yeah, I’ll stop being mad at you.”

Arthur grinned. “Fine. I’ll marry you _if_ you beat me in three competitions before we get out of high school.”

Merlin’s mouth gaped. “We’re not even in high school yet, Arthur.”

“I want to give you a fighting chance, _Mer_ lin.”

“A fighting chance to marry you?” Merlin gave a forced laugh. “Careful, Pendragon, I might think you want me to win.”

The first time Merlin beat Arthur, it wasn’t hard.

Merlin had long legs and lean muscles and he was built for running. He knew how to sprint like a champ and he spent six months training up in secret to be better than Arthur. Which was pretty difficult since Uther liked to hire personal trainers and make Arthur practice six days a week for _every_ sport he did.

He shouted “One down!” at Arthur when he crossed the finish line. Arthur only furrowed his brow and looked confused. But Merlin knew.

Sometimes what held Merlin back was simply finding a way to compete against Arthur.

Football was particularly difficult. Arthur loved it like no other and Merlin was sure that he actually enjoyed his father’s four hour long practice sessions. Luckily for Merlin, Uther hated him. So he wasn’t allowed on the Knights. Which meant he was entirely and totally free to go try out for the rival Dragons.

That game was intense. It was a tie, and then another tie, and then it was Arthur and Merlin against each other. Merlin thought it was perfect until he saw the cloudy red anger on Arthur’s face.

After the game, Merlin said a “One more to go!” but Arthur just stomped past him.

He didn’t talk to him for a few days, but Merlin managed to get him to come around with an armful of movies and a bag full of junk food and the rousing temptation of “Come on, you know Uther will hate it.”

And that’s how they ended up spending a weekend gorging on burgers and chips and fried pastries and watching really crappy cop dramas and a single romantic comedy. Merlin insisted that The Proposal was a cinematic masterpiece. Arthur only half-heartedly disagreed.

The third time Merlin beat Arthur, he wasn’t sure he could do it.

He had tried, unsuccessfully, to get Arthur to play him in some less competitive games. He was sure that if he could beat him at scrabble or something he could get a clear win and call it done. It was senior year and things were getting a bit desperate and try as he might, he hadn’t beat Arthur in anything since that football game.

But then, last semester, Merlin had his chance.

Arthur had entered into the senior art competition.

Merlin hadn’t even known Arthur liked art. If he’d made a habit of any artistic habits, he’d hidden them well. But Merlin knew that Arthur would never enter into a competition he didn’t think he’d win.

So Merlin decided to pull out all the stops. He couldn’t learn many techniques in the few weeks it would take. However, if he just practice drawing one picture over and over and over again, he could draw that one picture really well.

People started giving him weird looks when they saw his sketchbook. Reds and golds and silvers were stacked side by side in his pencil case, several of them worn down to nubs each week.

When it came time to enter in the piece for the competition, he had maybe a dozen copies, but he had only one perfect work.

It was the right size to show off all of the detail he’d put into it. He’d checked everything. The composition, the lines, the colors. As far as he could tell, it was _actually_ perfect.

The winners weren’t announced until the last week of school. They’d be sent off with a monetary prize and a nifty little ribbon for their work. If they allowed it, the school would hang their work in the hall as a show of school pride.

Merlin waited. Each day between the day he’d entered and the day the winner was announced was a horrible, gut churning experience.

When the winners were announced, Merlin was surprised.

First place had gone to Freya. Second place had gone to Morgana. He’d felt his insides shrivel and, yeah, those were arbitrary rules set up when the two of them had barely been teenagers, but Merlin had come very close to fulfilling the one requirement Arthur had set for him. It seemed silly. And to be honest, if Arthur even knew Merlin’s plan then Merlin was going to be very surprised. They weren’t even dating yet. But then he’d been announced as third place.

Everyone in the class applauded, except for one Arthur Pendragon. Merlin only looked at him and grinned. “Third one down.”

 _Arthur Pendragon, Knight of Camelot_ , hung in the school halls for an entire year.

**_Two Years Later_ **

“So, Merlin, what’s the plan today?” It was hot. Ridiculously hot. Summer was in full swing and Arthur was taking the excuse to laze about the house. “If it involves going outside or moving, I’m out.”

“I dunno. I thought we could start planning our wedding. How’s a Christmas theme sound to you?” Merlin didn’t even look nervous. He was just casually flipping through his phone.

Arthur gaped at him. “Excuse me, what?”

“Well, I was thinking maybe a nice winter theme would work. Snow and some blue ribbons. Of course, you always were the kind to prefer red. So how about a red and gold theme?” Merlin nodded. “We can do something manly afterwards to soothe your fragile ego.”

“My what? Merlin, what are you talking about?”

“Well, you know, any time you get a bit emotional or do something pretty, you get all macho and so I figured—”

“No, Merlin, we aren’t getting married.”

“Yes we are.” Merlin grinned and put his phone down. He scooted forward until he and Arthur were nose to nose. “You said so when we were thirteen. You said ‘I’ll marry you if you completely slaughter me in three competitions in high school.’ And I did, so you have to pay up.”

“Merlin, don’t be ridiculous. You never slaughtered me. You barely won at football, and running doesn’t count.” Arthur turned his cheek. “I was suffering a bad leg.”

“Sure you were. I still beat you by half a lap.”

“Half a lap?” Arthur snorted. “No, I don’t think so. It was just a technicality.” Arthur frowned. “Besides, I don’t remember competing against you a third time.”

“The art competition? You entered it and you didn’t even place! I got third. That’s definitely a win!”

Merlin crossed his arms and pouted. He hadn’t been _sure_ that his plan would work, but he hadn’t really expected it to _not_ work. He and Arthur had been dating a whole year now and Merlin had been certain he wanted to marry him since that day in middle school.

Arthur shifted and struggled off the cushion. He chuckled a bit as he crossed the room and Merlin burned red. Of course Arthur would think it was a funny joke. He always thought it was funny when Merlin was embarrassed, the jackass.

“I didn’t place, yeah. I remember that now.” Arthur rummaged around in the closet. “I didn’t place because I entered this.”

Merlin ducked from the rolled up paper that Arthur threw at his head.

It was a bit yellowed and weathered and the paper was thin now. Merlin unrolled it, curiosity overcoming his need to pout.

It was just a really crude drawing of Arthur and Merlin, with the words “I’ll marry you, you idiot.” written across it.

“I could tell you were getting desperate to beat me at something.” Arthur laughed. “No one wants to play scrabble that badly.”

“You’re a real arse, you know that.”

Arthur grinned and pressed a kiss to his lips. Merlin let himself be dragged close and wrapped his arms around Arthur’s torso.

“That’s why you love me.”

 

 


End file.
